Remote testing is good for when there is no other alternative, but going to a local club’s VE testing has the advantage of actually meeting people from the ham radio community. This might be your first step in joining a club. Ham radio - depending on which one of the thousand hobbies that make up ham radio you pick - may have a steep learning curve, so getting to know people who can answer questions and lend a hand for challenging projects is a good thing. You can find in-person testing on the ARRL web site https://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session and in HamStudy.org (also a great site to study for the test). Don’t forget that local clubs often have license classes as well (I teach the Technician class in Rochester, NY at Rochesterham.org)
Karl - Thanks for the input! I’m learning through various new exposures such as my work with Amateur Radio Digital Communications that a lot of (my) assumptions from decades of experience in Amateur Radio aren’t necessarily valid in the 2020s. Although COVID-19 certainly accelerated remote testing, there was (mostly unmet) demand for remote testing before COVID-19. One case I have learned of is that many young folks don’t have time or ability to travel to an in-person Amateur Radio test. Another is that many young folks, while interested in Amateur Radio as a technical and self-education activity, have no interest in joining an Amateur Radio club where they don’t see themselves represented in the membership of the club. Thus, I’m defaulting to promoting online Amateur Radio testing rather than in-person testing.
Jerry - I was licensed as a Novice, and Technician in the Cleveland, Ohio area. No relation to the Michigan Stroh's famous for a certain beverage. By the time I relocated to 7-land, the FCC no longer required callsign changes or signing with /7 and at the time, N7GNJ was spoken for, so I have remained N8GNJ.
Remote testing is good for when there is no other alternative, but going to a local club’s VE testing has the advantage of actually meeting people from the ham radio community. This might be your first step in joining a club. Ham radio - depending on which one of the thousand hobbies that make up ham radio you pick - may have a steep learning curve, so getting to know people who can answer questions and lend a hand for challenging projects is a good thing. You can find in-person testing on the ARRL web site https://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session and in HamStudy.org (also a great site to study for the test). Don’t forget that local clubs often have license classes as well (I teach the Technician class in Rochester, NY at Rochesterham.org)
de K5KHK
Karl - Thanks for the input! I’m learning through various new exposures such as my work with Amateur Radio Digital Communications that a lot of (my) assumptions from decades of experience in Amateur Radio aren’t necessarily valid in the 2020s. Although COVID-19 certainly accelerated remote testing, there was (mostly unmet) demand for remote testing before COVID-19. One case I have learned of is that many young folks don’t have time or ability to travel to an in-person Amateur Radio test. Another is that many young folks, while interested in Amateur Radio as a technical and self-education activity, have no interest in joining an Amateur Radio club where they don’t see themselves represented in the membership of the club. Thus, I’m defaulting to promoting online Amateur Radio testing rather than in-person testing.
Steve were you originally from mi with a # 8 in your callsign?
Jerry - I was licensed as a Novice, and Technician in the Cleveland, Ohio area. No relation to the Michigan Stroh's famous for a certain beverage. By the time I relocated to 7-land, the FCC no longer required callsign changes or signing with /7 and at the time, N7GNJ was spoken for, so I have remained N8GNJ.